


Lay Your Head on My Shoulder

by Flourishing_Gardens



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Muggle, British Sign Language, Deaf Character, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:15:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22323193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flourishing_Gardens/pseuds/Flourishing_Gardens
Summary: 'Just fucking great.This is exactly what Hermione wanted to avoid. She wanted to fall back in the shadows and just get through the year without being noticed much. Of course, the girl with the obnoxiously pushed up tits and too much perfume, Lavender, had to go and spread it around that the new girl was a ‘rude cunt’ and better yet, she was deaf. After lunch, it seemed like the entire school knew of her and couldn't stop talking about her.It was always worse when they knew she couldn’t hear before actually meeting her. Now, instead of being able to just come across as a shy, lonely bookworm, they would look at her with pity. They would ask if she needed help with taking notes and question her own intelligence. They would whisper and talk about her right in front of her, assuming she wouldn't be able to tell exactly what they were saying.'A Modern High School AU Harmony
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Comments: 8
Kudos: 86





	Lay Your Head on My Shoulder

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Harry Potter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "" denotes verbal speech
> 
> '' denotes sign language

_ September 1st _

They were all staring at her. Her first day of Sixth Form at a new school and already everyone already knew. She could feel the constant buzz of barely there whispers all around her and it made her skin crawl. It didn’t matter the volume they spoke at; she could read their lips anyways.

“Who is she? I’ve never seen her before.” Hermione noticed a pair of twins talking at neighbouring lockers. She had leaned back against her locker waiting for the swarm of students to dwindle down and noticed them peeking her way while they chatted. She knew they were talking about her so she decided to watch them too. They were almost identical, the only difference being the way they presented themselves.

“Lavender said she tried to welcome her and offered her a tour around the school, but she walked away without even acknowledging her. How rude is that?” This twin wore her uniform skirt uncomfortably short. Her hair was straightened and she wore an identical bracelet to the girl who she was speaking about,  _ Lavender. _

“I heard she’s deaf though, how would Lavender even speak to her.” This one wore a more modest skirt. Her hair was pushed up in a loose bun with hairs falling away from her face in a messy way that said how little she cared about doing her hair. It still was all ableist bullshit.

“Apparently Lavender even grabbed her by the shoulder and she just ripped her arm off and stormed away. It seems like she’s a bitch to me. She could have just said to Lavender she couldn’t hear her come up behind her.”  _ Yeah, who would like to be grabbed by a stranger in the middle of the hallway? _ “And she seems a little creepy too; is it just me or does it seem like she stares?”

Just fucking great.

This is exactly what Hermione wanted to avoid. She wanted to fall back in the shadows and just get through the year without being noticed much. Of course, the girl with the obnoxiously pushed up tits and too much perfume,  _ Lavender,  _ had to go and spread it around that the new girl was a ‘rude cunt’ and better yet, she was deaf. After lunch, it seemed like the entire school knew of her and couldn't stop talking about her.

It was always worse when they knew she couldn’t hear before actually meeting her. Now, instead of being able to just come across as a shy, lonely bookworm, they would look at her with pity. They would ask if she needed help with taking notes and question her own intelligence. _How is she even able to go to this school?_ They would whisper and talk about her right in front of her, assuming she wouldn't be able to tell exactly what they were saying.

Well, thanks to her parents'  _ diligence  _ to make sure Hermione went to hundreds of hours of speech therapy and tutors to help her learn how to lip-read, she always knew what they were saying. No, instead of emerging her into the Deaf Culture in England when they found out their baby had a hearing impairment, they were more concerned about Hermione fitting in with her peers than embracing it. So, she grew up in a verbal-only household where she spent most of her time immersing herself in books to deal with the loneliness silence brought.

It wasn’t until she met a girl after primary one day, eight years her senior, who noticed her predicament immediately. When she received a confused glance back from Hermione after trying to sign, she immediately offered to teach her BSL. Hermione felt hesitant about it at first, but the sixteen-year-old Tonks had bright bubblegum pink hair that intrigued her, and an infectious personality that matched it. Tonks was the first person that Hermione met that taught her to embrace her ‘disability’. That it was okay to not be normal. That she wasn’t an anomaly. That she wasn’t  _ less of a person  _ because of it.

She gave Hermione several beginner books for BSL and worked with her on the alphabet the next day. Hermione devoured the content quickly and took to sign language like she had been learning it for years. Her curiosity grew about why Tonks learned to sign, but the only explanation she ever gave was about an older cousin she looked up to who’s hard of hearing. Apparently by the time he turned sixteen his younger brother caught him snogging a boy at the park and outed him to their parents. Apparently having a  _ disabled AND gay  _ son was too much for them. They disowned him and Tonks hadn’t seen him since. She always remembered him though, and when she started school she began to learn sign on her own.

Seeing how heartbroken Tonks looked over not seeing her cousin gave her a renewed spirit to take even more tutoring sessions with her. Hermione hadn’t felt comfortable with many people, but Tonks made her feel special. She even made her feel loved. As if Hermione had given Tonks a gift by letting her teach sign and have someone to converse with in it.

Two years later Tonks left for University with promises to keep in touch. The goodbye they shared was nothing short of emotional. Hermione felt like she wasn’t just losing her friend, but someone who was her family. 

Tonks did keep to her word and sent letters to Hermione weekly, and eventually switched to texting when Hermione finally received a mobile. She had even texted Hermione to wish her good luck first thing in the morning knowing it was Hermione’s first day at Hogwarts.

What good luck she had. 

Hermione hiked her bag further up on her shoulder and began to make her way to the last class of the day, Global with Mr Lupin. She wanted to get there somewhat early to ask him whether or not she could record his class. She had a device that allowed her to record sound and transcribed it as a document on her laptop after uploading.

She reached his slightly ajar door and quickly glanced inside. No students were there yet, but Mr Lupin seemed to be looking over his notes at his desk. His sandy brown hair hanging in his eyes, and his glasses falling to the tip of his nose. When she knocked on the door he looked up at her with a warm smile. Hermione immediately felt more at ease with him than any other of her teachers that day. Especially the chemistry teacher, Mr Snape, who glared at one boy almost the entire class. 

“Hello Mr Lupin,” she walked in further and he gestured for her to take a seat across from his desk.

“Hullo Miss Granger. Do you feel more comfortable signing?” She froze for a moment, not knowing how to react to his question. Her mouth felt dry and she cringed knowing her voice most likely sounded hoarse, “I don’t mind lip reading. I’ve done it my whole life.” 

He gave her a small, bittersweet smile and put down his pen. He gracefully raised his hands and signed to her at deaf speed.

‘Just because you’ve had to do it your whole life does not matter if it is what makes you feel more comfortable. Makes you feel more like you.’

Her throat tightened. Her eyes suddenly felt wetter. She couldn’t speak.

‘Thank you sir.’ she finally signed, smiling for the first time that day.

* * *

  
  


An hour and a half later classes were finally released. Hermione quickly made her way to her locker to gather her things and leave. She felt much lighter after her conversation with Mr Lupin, or Mr Moony. She felt a bit giggly thinking of his personal sign name, as most professionals just use the initial of their first or last name. Hermione knew he gave her something more personal to help her feel more comfortable conversing with him. He didn’t hesitate to let her know that, yes, not only could she record his lessons and use her laptop to type notes, but also offered to go over anything that was missed or didn’t transcribe. He gave her the impression that he loved to talk about history with people who were genuinely curious and had a thirst for knowledge.

As she grabbed what she needed for the night, she noticed the locker door vibrate a few times. When she closed the door, she noticed a boy from her classes right behind it with his hands up, like he had been tapping on it. His hair was a mop of a mess, which said something compared to her morning bedhead. His eyes were a brilliant emerald green, which looked even brighter with the giant grin on his face. He didn’t even bother to speak.

‘Hello, my name is H-A-R-R-Y P-O-T-T-E-R.” He quickly signed an H followed by a lightning bolt and pushed his fringe aside for her to see his matching scar. ‘I cannot tell you how nice it is to know another person who signs in this school.’

She looked at him confused, ‘Are you hearing?’ She realized after the fact that it was probably rude that she didn’t give him her own name. Hermione noticed his body shake with laughter and for the first time in a while she wished she could hear what his laughter sounded like.

‘Yes, but I am C-O-D-A. Both my parents are deaf and my uncle is hard of hearing. Sign is my first language.’ She could tell from the expression on his face that he fostered so much love for his family. Hermione couldn’t help herself but smile wistfully. She wished her family had given her that much support.

He didn’t wait for her response, perhaps sensing her unease of the situation. ‘Moony told me that I should look for you after school. He thought you would like knowing that there were others around who also sign.’

She took a step away from him and narrowed her eyes. “I am sorry, but I am not here to be pitied. I am here to learn only. Company is not necessary.”

His face dropped immediately and she felt a bit of remorse for her harsh words. He shook his head violently and took a small step towards her. Not enough to be completely in her personal space, but enough to show he wasn’t done with the conversation.

‘Please, that is not what I meant by that. Sign,’ she watched as his tongue darted out and licked his lips, ‘Sign feels like home to me. It is more a part of me than spoken words. Sign is beautiful and expressive, but no one here understands. I had hoped that maybe you would want to talk to someone, but I know now I overstepped a boundary.’

Hermione’s awareness keyed in that moment, making her realize how much taller Harry was than her. She reached out slowly and gently placed her hand on the side of his arm with just a touch of pressure. With her other hand she signed back to him.

“H-E-R-M-I-O-N-E G-R-A-N-G-E-R.” His face lit up again.

‘Do you have a sign name?’ She shrugged as she dropped her hand. ‘You can just call me H.’ 

He gave a tiny smirk at her and shook his head, ‘Well don’t you worry. If I have anything to do with it you will have a perfect one to suit you soon enough.’

She snorted and quickly covered her lips. She tensed as she looked around but didn’t visibly relax until she saw the hall was mostly empty. Empty except for a pair of redheads covered in freckles walking their way. 

“Harry!” She could tell the stocky looking boy had shouted as he cupped his hand around his mouth. He shuffled over quickly to them and gave Hermione a once over and grimaced. “Isn’t this the new girl? I heard she’s an absolute nightmare!” 

Ahh yes. She felt her guard slip for a moment there and forgot how shitty people actually were. 

But Harry never turned his body fully towards the boy. He positioned himself in a way where she could still see his lips. “Ron,  _ she _ is right here, so don’t talk about her like she’s not. Besides you’ve never even met her before, how would you even know what she’s like?”

She felt her face heat up. She’s never had anyone defend her like that to another hearie.

_ Ron _ gave Harry a bewildered look that made it seem like he never heard anything more stupid in his life. “So? It’s not like she can hear.” 

She coughed to establish her presence and for the first time noticed the girl. A pretty little thing, except for all of the hatred that seeped from her as she glared at the small distance between herself and Harry.

“Excuse me, Harry,” She watched Ron’s eyes comically bug out of his stupid face as he heard her ‘normal’ voice. “I must be heading home now, it was nice to meet you.” She gave a sharp nod and turned away. Not looking back once to see what they had to say about her anymore.


End file.
